Corporate welfare at its best

Forbes notes, is General Electric, which “generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.” Big Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which last year reported a record $45.2 billion profit, paid the most taxes of any corporation, but none of it went to the IRS.

dustin_K_tx saidForbes notes, is General Electric, which “generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.” Big Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which last year reported a record $45.2 billion profit, paid the most taxes of any corporation, but none of it went to the IRS.

RST2009 saidHow many employees did these companies employ? Therefore clothe, shelter and feed.

and those employees pay taxes on their earnings. so because you get money by allowing other people to pay their taxes you no longer have to pay your own?

Tax incentives help keep big business in business, my point is that these two companies employee 400,000 people. The impact on society if they didnt exist would be far greater than the few billion dollars they avoided in federal tax.

Alright, let's start with the first fact, which is that a lot of companies do not have tax liabilities because they are using net operating losses, which is perfectly reasonable and has been a bedrock principal of corporate taxation since time immemorial.

Second, the fact that companies (and individuals) can offshore their tax domiciles is a check against tyranny from my perspective. There is a point when taxation becomes confiscatory, and offshore tax domains force the US to actually be competitive about taxation. It prevents the Federal government from arbitrarily taking constantly. And frankly, there's nothing you can do about it. What are you going to do, make companies that are domiciled elsewhere illegal? Good luck with that.

Plus, they're essentially doing to the US what multinationals have done to other nations for decades - repatriating earnings elsewhere. The problem you all have with it now is that instead of repatriating to the US, they're repatriating to the Grand Caymans. Well, if you don't like it, you should be a more competitive domicile. The dialogue is one of rational benefits, and transfers of value; drop the victimhood.

This should be a wakeup call to those who constantly advocate treating productive entities and people as though they're piggybanks from which politicians can draw constantly to feed their pet projects. Increasingly we live in a world where private actors don't have to tolerate that sort of thing, and therefore governments must reasonably charge for the services they provide, or face a loss of revenue. As individuals become more mobile, and as technology allows greater and greater telepresence, this will become a major factor in taxation. It's competition, and it's about time governments face it.

dustin_K_tx saidForbes notes, is General Electric, which “generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.” Big Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which last year reported a record $45.2 billion profit, paid the most taxes of any corporation, but none of it went to the IRS.

The government should come in, liquidate those companies, and shoot the executives.

This is what happens with poor / absent regulation. They are within the law. What they do, however, is a result of taxes cuts for the wealthiest Americans, while spending went ever higher, and the notion that unearned income (how rich folks make their livings) is not as taxable as earned income (how non-rich folks make their livings). In general, most folks will pay about 2% less moving forward under The Obama Administration, and the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy have been allowed to expire.

Exon makes huge profits on the backs of working folks, and, in 2008, gouged the public with obscene fuel prices recording over-the-top profits for its shareholders. Had proper regulation been in place, the economy would not have suffered so much, and many folks wouldn't have had to choose between eating and getting to work. Regulation is essential to the success of capitalism.

So, because GE is employing people, they shouldn't have to pay their taxes like most mid to small size businesses, and most American citizens do?How is that fair?How is that good for our economy?How is that helping to pay down the National Debt?How is that anything but UNPATRIOTIC.Some people and corporations care more about their own greedy self interest than they do their country.

What a Scrooge-like attempted defense of the unfair advantage GE has when tax day comes along..

abelian0 saidAlright, let's start with the first fact, which is that a lot of companies do not have tax liabilities because they are using net operating losses, which is perfectly reasonable and has been a bedrock principal of corporate taxation since time immemorial.

Second, the fact that companies (and individuals) can offshore their tax domiciles is a check against tyranny from my perspective. There is a point when taxation becomes confiscatory, and offshore tax domains force the US to actually be competitive about taxation.

Well, the United States already has, thanks to loopholes in the tax code, one of the lowest effective corporate tax rates among the major industrialized nations.

Through a series of loopholes tax shelters and the LOWEST corporate tax rate in historyWe have made a system of corporate welfare whereby a company can make hundreds of millions of dollars and have Uncle Sam owe them a refundand guess what two years made this a reality?If you guessed it was during the Reagan presidency you were closethat was bad but no where NEARLY as bad as 2002-2003 where the tax rate and shelter opportunities where handed to the corporations on a silver platter by none other than the George W Bush crime familyOne more reason to hate you

When individuals get a tax check from Uncle Samit's a reimbursement for money that they already spentIt's a Federal Government no Interest loanSo really you're ahead of the game Tax Wise if you don't OWE anything and don't GET anything back either

Corporate Taxes are something ALL Together differentWe have to pay our taxesThey are playing hide and seek and catch me if you can and getting away with it

Try setting up an address in the Cayman Islands next April 15 and claim you're not an American citizen and see how far that gets you Right Mahn!

Doesn't General Electric own NBC? And thus MSNBC? So, Keith and Co. are all employees of GE? So, anything they say should be suspect, not wrong, but scrutinized a bit? Rachel Maddow is an employee of GE. Is she not? And GE is big in solar energy and turbines and wind power? Aren't they the leader in engineering and building new sources of Green Power? So, what they say should be taken with a grain of salt?

If I was Keith or Rachel, I might be leaning towards espousing positions that generate more income to my employer. Just saying. Who stands to profit from the Green movement? Maybe the company that has invested hugely in wind and solar? Wind turbines? General Electric. Solar panels? General Electric. Multi-million dollar contracts from the government? GE. The employer of Keith, Rachel and Chris Mathews.

You make a very good point Triggerman, people should always look for any under lying agenda.However, your post was a little off topic. I was simply showing how those who choose to spend their time condemning the single mother of two who makes less then 20K may want to spread their outrage around a bit.